[Merged] Live 8 Concerts

Originally Posted by Halcyon

No dobt flocks of people will buy the DVD once its released around November. Will probably make good Christmas presents.

I certainly will be buying it. Although I think they should avoid the christmas season. I do not like the materal you would be handing the critics who would rush to make the comparsion between someone unwrapping a Live 8 dvd in England while tens of thouands of people die because of poverty on christmas day.

Just a thought. If A child dies in africa at a rate of 1 every 3 secounds and 50,000 people with (30,000 of them children) a day. How long before Africa is wiped of most of their population? (The 50,000 figure is world-wide but a massive majority of them are Aficans)

[budwieser]

Isn`t it sad that all these bands give their time for such a good cause yet very few of them actually give any of their Millions away to it.!

Originally Posted by budwieser

Isn`t it sad that all these bands give their time for such a good cause yet very few of them actually give any of their Millions away to it.!

As has been said hundreds of times before this event was not about donating money. It was about raising awareness so the topic of money (always good to discredit someone) is irrelevant. However we do not know how much the performers give to charaity as donations are confidential. The idea of giving to charity is because of the cause, not for them to boast about it. Finally your dedication to a cause is not measured in money.

Originally Posted by budwieser

Isn`t it sad that all these bands give their time for such a good cause yet very few of them actually give any of their Millions away to it.!

Got absolute proof of that have you?How do you know they don't?Maybe they do but keep their traps shut about it.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by budwieser

Isn`t it sad that all these bands give their time for such a good cause yet very few of them actually give any of their Millions away to it.!

Isn't it sad that people seem all to willing to criticise those who are trying to help, without actually offering any alternative ideas on how to help?

[etccarmageddon]

how do you know these bands dont donate money to charity.

[allieyoung666]

They donate their time and effort to make a concert like this possible, I love people who always think negative things about events like this.

[budwieser]

Originally Posted by allieyoung666

They donate their time and effort to make a concert like this possible, I love people who always think negative things about events like this.

I shall consider myself `Slapped for ` my comments.

[punky]

Originally Posted by Damien

As has been said hundreds of times before this event was not about donating money.

But it is mate. Wiping the debt is a just another way of saying we'll donate them a one massive handout. Anyway, didn't they say they always wanted to work their way out of debt rather than live on handouts? Seems instead of handouts, they should concentrate on encouraging trade. There is only one solution for Africa, and it is something Geldof and his ilk will never accept/allow. It needs an enforced mass regime change. Until people realise that, along with the fact they need to get religious leaders to approve condom use in Africa (HIV isn't being spread through poverty), then nothing will really change.

Raise awareness? You'll struggle to find someone who wasn't aware of Africa, even Bush knows about it, which is why he doubled aid to the place not so long ago. Awareness was raised just as well 20 years ago.

I was speaking to a mate of mine, he raised an interesting point. This debt will have to be paid for. Either by Africans, or us. If we are the ones footing the bill, I wonder how much it will cost. We haven't started paying for Iraq yet, and Africa is 4 times that I think.

Originally Posted by punky

But it is mate. Wiping the debt is a just another way of saying we'll donate them a one massive handout. Anyway, didn't they say they always wanted to work their way out of debt rather than live on handouts? Seems instead of handouts, they should concentrate on encouraging trade.

The debt is immensely damaging to Africa. Also most debt has actually being paid off but thanks to compond interest (which i dont understand) they still owe masses in interest payments. Also the interest is soaring higher than they are making money so every day they get into more and more debt. They need fair trade as well but when that happens we need to write off the debt which will allow them to start getting an infrastructure and so on instead of using that money to pay back the debt. Malawi spends more money on the debt that paying for healthcare, and one in five of there population has aids. They can cannot continue like that.

There is only one solution for Africa, and it is something Geldof and his ilk will never accept/allow. It needs an enforced mass regime change. Until people realise that, along with the fact they need to get religious leaders to approve condom use in Africa (HIV isn't being spread through poverty), then nothing will really change.

That is based on the idea that every African goverment is corrupt, it is not. Most of africa isnt run by dictators who will steal all the money but obviously the cases in which is does happen are used by people (unfairly) to try and say that any help we give africa will be wasted. HIV is not spread though poverty, but it does help. Condoms still are not availible totally and the church reallly has to allow the use of them. Also the medication and education that the westen world enjoys when too comes to preventing the spread of HIV is not availible in africa because they cannot afford it.

Raise awareness? You'll struggle to find someone who wasn't aware of Africa, even Bush knows about it, which is why he doubled aid to the place not so long ago. Awareness was raised just as well 20 years ago.

It was to raise awareness about the G8 and would could be done to improve Africa. Not Just 'Africa' in general. Also while everyone may be aware of Africa it is still slightly ignored by the world. Also the aid, even after the doubling, is still very little. Aid is now being used more carefully then the past to avoid being skimmed off by corrupt leaders. Statstics like the fact that we could provide basic healthcare and food for the whole of africa for $13 billion and we spend $17 billion on pet food is amazing.

I was speaking to a mate of mine, he raised an interesting point. This debt will have to be paid for. Either by Africans, or us. If we are the ones footing the bill, I wonder how much it will cost. We haven't started paying for Iraq yet, and Africa is 4 times that I think.

The Iraq/Africa comparsion does not work. We are talking about going to war with africa. They are different issues. Also paying the off the debt is different, its a combinations of the world paying for some of it and the rest just being forgiven by the banks that gave it. That is what happened recently when the goverment wrote off some of the debt, it wasnt us paying for all of it. It was a combination. Also we can afford debt relief and it would help Africa a lot.

[punky]

Originally Posted by Damien

That is based on the idea that every African goverment is corrupt, it is not.

Not every government is not ruled by a corrupt dictatorship, but plent of countries are run by totally inept and nonfunctional governments, which are just as bad. Also, I don't know that much about this but apparently there is still a lot of inter-tribal warfare, because a lot of people there still see themselves as belong to small local tribe rather than one big tribe that is Africa.

Don't get me wrong, I want to sort the Africa problem more than anyone, as much as I wanted to sort the Saddam-Iraq problem, I just think we are going the wrong way about, and that aggrivates me. I would have said the same thing about the last concert had I have been older than 4, and would have been proved right.

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Got absolute proof of that have you?How do you know they don't?Maybe they do but keep their traps shut about it.

Not sure about the bands giving money away (i'm sure they do though!) but it was mentioned by Sir Bob introducing Bill Gates that Bill & his Wife have donated over FIVE BILLION DOLLARS to charities.

[Paul K]

Originally Posted by NEONKNIGHT

Not sure about the bands giving money away (i'm sure they do though!) but it was mentioned by Sir Bob introducing Bill Gates that Bill & his Wife have donated over FIVE BILLION DOLLARS to charities.

Yep there is a post elsewhere about it on the forum (here), they donate via The Gates Foundation.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by Damien

The debt is immensely damaging to Africa. Also most debt has actually being paid off but thanks to compond interest (which i dont understand) they still owe masses in interest payments.

You borrow £100 at a rate of 10%, at the end of year one if you have made no payments you now owe £100 + £10 interest, what will then happen is you add the interest to the initial borrowing so the capital is now £110 and charge interest at 10% on that, so that at the end of year two if you make no repayments you are charged £11 interest and the debt is now £121, not the £120 if you had no interest compounding.
Going forward
Yr. Non / Compounded
3 130 / 133
4 140 / 146.3
5 150 / 160.93
6 160 / 177.02
7 170 / 194.72
8 180 / 214.14

So you can see over time how the interest on interest makes the debt build up.

Originally Posted by punky

Not every government is not ruled by a corrupt dictatorship, but plent of countries are run by totally inept and nonfunctional governments, which are just as bad. Also, I don't know that much about this but apparently there is still a lot of inter-tribal warfare, because a lot of people there still see themselves as belong to small local tribe rather than one big tribe that is Africa.

Don't get me wrong, I want to sort the Africa problem more than anyone, as much as I wanted to sort the Saddam-Iraq problem, I just think we are going the wrong way about, and that aggrivates me. I would have said the same thing about the last concert had I have been older than 4, and would have been proved right.

Well they are trying and it is at least a nice way to do something about it. Almost every big social change have been made up masses of people and Live 8 is a good way to reach a wide amount of people